The U.S. Department of Justice's U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Texas issued the following press release:
United States Attorney Chuck Rosenberg and Assistant Attorney General Wan Kim, Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice, announced today the conviction of Walter Alexander Corea, 39, owner and operator of the El Cuco Restaurant, and Victor Omar Lopez, 38, operator of the Mi Cabana Bar, for their involvement in the trafficking of Central American females for compelled service at Houston area bars and restaurants through force, fraud and coercion.
Corea and Lopez, pleaded guilty late Friday afternoon before United States District Judge Vanessa Gilmore to both counts alleged in the indictment and stand convicted of conspiracy to hold persons in conditions of peonage - involuntary servitude in payment of a debt - and recruiting, holding and providing persons for labor and services as alleged in Count One. The conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of five (5) years in federal prison. Both Corea and Lopez also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain alleged in Count Two. That conviction carries a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment. Each of the two counts of conviction carries a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing has been set for April 24, 2006, 9:30 a.m.
A third defendant, Maximino Mondragon, also known as 'El Chimino,' 57, the owner of El Potrero de Chimino Bar and La Margarita Restaurant located on Hempstead Highway, pleaded guilty to the same two federal felony offenses on January 23, 2006, and is pending sentencing on April 10, 2006.
The remaining four defendants, who are presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law, are pending trial in November 2006.
At Friday's hearing, the United States informed the court that the government's evidence would prove that between November 2001 and November 2005, both Corea and Lopez were part of an organization that sent its members to Central America, where they recruited women and girls for jobs as waitresses at bars and restaurants in Houston, and arranged to smuggle them into the country. However, instead of the good jobs they were promised, the women were made to work as 'bargirls,' sitting and dancing with male customers and selling overpriced drinks to them in several bars owned or operated by Mondragon and other associates. The bars in question, which could sustain employment for at most two or three waitresses, each actually employed as many as 30 women in such a capacity at any given time. The women reported earning income ranging from $500 to $600 a week selling drinks to male customers. However, after paying assessments for a debt that incorporated alien smuggling fees, food, housing, clothing, and other miscellaneous items, they received as little as $50 each week. In some cases, the women sank further into debt. Over 100 women were recovered from bars and restaurants associated with Mondragon and other associates in mid-November 2005 following the arrest of the defendants. Interviews of some of these young women established that women who sought permission to pay their debt through other means were not allowed to - the conspirators linked the compelled service directly to the debt.
In addition to this debt, the young women were maintained in service to the defendants by threats of violence against them and their families. As part of their compelled service, the woman and girls were required to submit on occasion to the sexual demands of the defendants, bar patrons, or close associates of the defendants. At re-arraignment, Lopez conceded he had once locked a bargirl in the bar with a man on an evening when the bar was not opened until the following morning, leaving her with several condoms and instructions to 'take care' of the client. The woman submitted to the man's sexual advances because of her peonage and fear of Lopez and others.
Additionally, Lopez admitted to having negotiated the sale of two bargirls, one of whom he knew to be a minor, to another for coerced prosecution for a total of $11,000. During the negotiations, Lopez urged the use of coercion to maintain the young women in service.
Walter Corea admitted he was involved in the recruitment and actual smuggling of the young women and girls and transporting them to Houston where he would sell the woman's smuggling debt to other bar owner members of the organization. Corea admitted his involvement in smuggling and transporting more than 100 women and girls into the United States to work as bargirls during the course of the four-year conspiracy.
The remaining defendants pending trial in November 2006 include Oscar Mondragon, 47, operator of the Mi Cabana Sports Bar, located on West Tidwell Road; Maria Fuentes, 35, a bartender and bookkeeper at Maximino's bar and restaurant; Olga Mondragon, 45, the operator of the El Huetamo Nite Club, also known as La Leona Club on Ojeman Road; Kerin Josue Silva, 19, son of Walter Corea, who allegedly transported victims to the bars and restaurants, and Lorenza Reyes-Nunez, also known as 'COMADRE,' 30, who worked at Maximino Mondragon's businesses.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. Defendant(s) are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation leading to the filing of criminal charges is the result of a year-long investigation conducted by members of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) in Houston, Texas, which includes the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO), the Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission (TABC), and the Constables Offices of Precincts One and Five. Assistant United States Attorneys Ruben R. Perez and Joe Magliolo, and Trial Attorneys Lou de Baca and James Felte with the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, are prosecuting the case.
